Big Productions!

Katie had a special Valedictory ceremony for finishing 7th Grade, next year she moves on to the Senior School with Kelly.  They had a special mass for the girls then a very fancy dinner where it was only the girls and their parents.  South African Mothers are all about a beautiful party...so the dinner setup was impressive.

Here is Katie with her candle at mass which symbolizes them going out into the world.

The theme was Breakfast at Tiffanys, so everything was Tiffany Blue.

They did a massive sweet table, our contribution was Blue Hershey Kisses, Blue Laffy Taffy and Blue Jelly Bellys.  Kids thought the American candy was pretty cool.

Charlie's Nativity play was the next night and it was an adorable show!  The boys were amazing little actors we couldn't believe the amount of lines they memorized and how well they all did on stage.   Charlie was Drummer Boy #5...he was nervous before the show but then said once the show started he didn't want it to end!
We ordered a video that we will bring with us when we come home...

We are all counting down the days until we return to the US for a Christmas visit!

The End of School Year Frenzy Begins

When you travel here you have the option to get your suitcase wrapped so no one gets into your luggage.  Greg returned from yet another trip and Charlie was thrilled to unwrap the suitcase and turn himself into a mummy.

As the end of the school year approaches the kids have lots of end of year activities.  Charlie had a swim gala where he insisted on wearing his googles...the speedo is mandatory..

He survived the gala and afterward said it was fun, but he was worried about it ahead of time.

He also had a Dads & Lads golf tournament, we went to do a little practice before the big event...We sneak in as much golf as we can, the weather is beautiful and the golf is really reasonable compared to US prices.  The kids came along and drive the cart.  They jump out for a hole or two. Kelly is a maniac driver, trying to do doughnuts whenever possible.

We saw this field of clover on the course and Charlie said it was like Olaf the snowman (in Frozen) so he posed for an Olaf photo.


Greg & Charlie loved their golf tournament, Charlie was thrilled to get his participants medal at the end.








Sat morning was the end of season Dads vs Lads cricket game and I took a few photos.  The kids and Dads and a few Moms had a ball!

Here is Greg working on his pitching (bowling). Charlie is squatting down like a catcher.

Here are the two cricket stars after the match, they are standing in front of the new fountain at the entrance to the school, Charlie's school really is a beautiful place!

Charlie is wearing the cricket hat...which is the old style one like Fivel the little mouse wears!

This weekend we attended our second Marine Corp Birthday Ball, it was a great night out and the Marines always do a nice job.  We had lots of friends come along to the event, and they enjoyed the ceremony.  We stayed over in the casino hotel, kids were happy for binge TV watching!

Greg in his new tux...thanks Scott!

This week will be crazy...Katie has a big ceremony tonight for finishing the Junior School (ends in Grade 7 here) and tomorrow night Charlie will do his Christmas Nativity Play.

Halloween After Action Report

We did a great job of celebrating Halloween in a country that doesn't understand it!  We had a Halloween party and did a spooky haunted house a few weeks before, did trick or treating at my office, then we set up our own trick or treating loop in our neighborhood that the kids did on Halloween night. Here we are getting started on Halloween night.

Charlie is a shadow.he had a hood that covered his entire head..Katie is a mime!

The two teenage witches!

Candy trading time!

We also went to our friends medieval festival again this year and Mike & Molly came along too...the highlight was seeing the Swiss Choir and the guy play the instrument from the Riccola commercial!!

RICCOLA!

 Kelly gets the credit for this photo...the guy in front of us in the cake line was wearing these!

We dropped Mike & Molly off at their hotel to start their amazing motorcycle adventure, here is Charlie standing next to their bike.. .the rest of the bikes are for the other people on the tour.  (Charlie would have gladly taken any of them)

The kids gave Halloween a bigger thumbs up than last year, but they still think nothing is better than trick or treating on Stark Ave!!!